Beamforming for dynamic cell switching

ABSTRACT

The first circuitry may be operable to establish a first UE Receive (Rx) beam as being for reception of data from a first eNB. The second circuitry may be operable to process a transmission including Downlink Control Information (DCI), wherein the DCI carries an eNB cell-switching indicator. The first circuitry may also be operable to establish a second UE Rx beam as being for reception of data from a second eNB based on the eNB cell-switching indicator.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Phase entry application of InternationalPatent Application No. PCT/CN2017/097237 filed Aug. 11, 2017, whichclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/373,460 filed Aug. 11, 2016, and claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/373,828 filed Aug. 11, 2016, which are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

A variety of wireless cellular communication systems have beenimplemented, including a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, a 3GPP Long-Term Evolution(LTE) system, and a 3GPP LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system. Next-generationwireless cellular communication systems based upon LTE and LTE-A systemsare being developed, such as a fifth generation (5G) wireless system/5Gmobile networks system. Next-generation wireless cellular communicationsystems may provide support for higher bandwidths in part by supportinghigher carrier frequencies, such as centimeter-wave and millimeter-wavefrequencies. In turn, next-generation wireless cellular communicationsystems may provide support for centimeter-wave and millimeter-wave inpart by supporting beamforming.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments the disclosure will be understood more fully from thedetailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings ofvarious embodiments of the disclosure. However, while the drawings areto aid in explanation and understanding, they are only an aid, andshould not be taken to limit the disclosure to the specific embodimentsdepicted therein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a protocol diagram for Beam Reference Signal ReceivePower (BRS-RP) reporting, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a scenario of symbol-specific Downlink ControlInformation (DCI) transmission, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a scenario of symbol-specific DCI transmission, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a scenario of DCI-indicated cell switching, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a scenario of active link lists, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates at Evolved Node B (eNB) and a User Equipment (UE), inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for a UE for cellswitch commands in DCI, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for a UE fordifferent Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbolsconfigured with different beamformed beams, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates methods for a UE for cell switch commands in DCI, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates methods for a UE for different OFDM symbolsconfigured with different beamformed beams, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates example components of a device, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various wireless cellular communication systems have been implemented orare being proposed, including a 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a 3GPPLong-Term Evolution (LTE) system, a 3GPP LTE-Advanced system, and a 5thGeneration wireless system/5th Generation mobile networks (5G)system/5th Generation new radio (NR) system.

In 5G systems, high-frequency band usage may be adopted to improveuser-experienced data rates. In high-frequency bands, beamforming,including Transmit (Tx) side and Receive (Rx) side beamforming, may beapplied and may provide enhanced beamforming gain. This mayadvantageously compensate for pathloss in high-frequency bands andsuppress mutual user interference.

For one User Equipment (UE), a preferred beam (e.g., a UE/eNB beam pair)may be different for different Enhanced Node-Bs (eNBs). For example, afirst beam of a UE may be a preferred beam when transmitting informationto and receiving information from a first eNB (e.g., an eNB1), and asecond beam of the UE may be a preferred beam when transmittinginformation to and receiving information from a second eNB (e.g., aneNB2).

When the eNB serving a UE changes from one eNB to another eNB (forexample, in dynamic point selection), the beam that the UE uses toconnect to the eNB may be disposed to switching along with the beamemployed by the eNB that the UE connects to, in order to minimize oreliminate link loss.

Discussed herein are mechanisms and methods for beamforming reportingand switching upon dynamic changes in eNB beams serving a UE, such aswhen an eNB serving a UE changes. Some embodiments may incorporate aBeam Reference Signal Receive Power (BRS-RP) mode. Some embodiments mayincorporate a symbol-specific Downlink Control Information (DCI)configuration among multiple candidate cells. Some embodiments mayincorporate a DCI configured-cell switching.

The mechanisms and methods discussed herein may have a variety ofadvantages. First, some embodiments may extend a Coordinated Multi-Point(COMP) set definition, and may add a beamform index and/or acorresponding receive power. In some systems, when an eNB is determinedto be and eNB connected to a UE, the UE may be disposed to maintain andreport (e.g., provide BRS-RP for) a UE beam used in the connection. Thismay result in increased reporting. For a UE with a single panel, a beammeasurement of eNBs in one COMP set may be Time-Division Multiplexed(TDMed). A pre-determined time (e.g., a pre-determined time pipe) for aneNB COMP set may be defined, and may advantageously reduce or eliminatean overhead of the TDMed configuration.

Second, when reporting a BRS-RP, a new identifier may be reported, whichmay advantageously help distinguish the eNB within a COMP set.

Third, in a flexible COMP set, at a given time, a number of eNBs withinthe COMP set (up to and including all eNBs in the COMP set) may send adate to the UE. As discussed herein, a UE may utilize different UE Rxbeams to sweep Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH, and/or 5PDCCH(xPDCCH)). Accordingly, the UE may advantageously detect an eNB that isactive if a corresponding PDCCH is received.

Fourth, a dynamic procedure may advantageously enable COMP sets todynamically switch an active eNB. Such procedures may incorporatecontrol signaling and various eNB and UE behaviors.

In the following description, numerous details are discussed to providea more thorough explanation of embodiments of the present disclosure. Itwill be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuringembodiments of the present disclosure.

Note that in the corresponding drawings of the embodiments, signals arerepresented with lines. Some lines may be thicker, to indicate a greaternumber of constituent signal paths, and/or have arrows at one or moreends, to indicate a direction of information flow. Such indications arenot intended to be limiting. Rather, the lines are used in connectionwith one or more exemplary embodiments to facilitate easierunderstanding of a circuit or a logical unit. Any represented signal, asdictated by design needs or preferences, may actually comprise one ormore signals that may travel in either direction and may be implementedwith any suitable type of signal scheme.

Throughout the specification, and in the claims, the term “connected”means a direct electrical, mechanical, or magnetic connection betweenthe things that are connected, without any intermediary devices. Theterra “coupled” means either a direct electrical, mechanical, ormagnetic connection between the things that are connected or an indirectconnection through one or more passive or active intermediary devices.The term “circuit” or “module” may refer to one or more passive and/oractive components that are arranged to cooperate with one another toprovide a desired function. The term “signal” may refer to at least onecurrent signal, voltage signal, magnetic signal, or data/clock signal.The meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references. Themeaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.”

The terms “substantially,” “close,” “approximately,” “near,” and “about”generally refer to being within +/−10% of a target value. Unlessotherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “first,” “second,”and “third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate thatdifferent instances of like objects are being referred to, and are notintended to imply that the objects so described must be in a givensequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any othermanner.

It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable underappropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein are, for example, capable of operation in otherorientations than those illustrated in otherwise described herein.

The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,”“wider,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, areused for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describingpermanent relative positions.

For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases “A and/or B” and“A or B” mean (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the presentdisclosure, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B),(A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).

In addition, the various elements of combinatorial logic and sequentiallogic discussed in the present disclosure may pertain both to physicalstructures (such as AND gates, OR gates, or XOR gates), or tosynthesized or otherwise optimized collections of devices implementingthe logical structures that are Boolean equivalents of the logic underdiscussion.

In addition, for purposes of the present disclosure, the term “eNB” mayrefer to a legacy LTE capable Evolved Node-B (eNB), a next-generation or5G capable eNB, a millimeter-wave (mmWave) capable eNB or an mmWavesmall cell, an Access Point (AP), and/or another base station for awireless communication system. For purposes of the present disclosure,the term “UE” may refer to a legacy LTE capable User Equipment (UE), anext-generation or 5G capable UE, an mmWave capable UE, a Station (STA),and/or another mobile equipment for a wireless communication system.

Various embodiments of eNBs and/or UEs discussed below may process oneor more transmissions of various types. Some processing of atransmission may compose demodulating, decoding, detecting, parsing,and/or otherwise handling a transmission that has been received. In someembodiments, an eNB or UE processing a transmission may determine orrecognize the transmission's type and/or a condition associated with thetransmission. For some embodiments, an eNB or UE processing atransmission may act in accordance with the transmission's type, and/ormay act conditionally based upon the transmission's type. An eNB or UEprocessing a transmission may also recognize one or more values orfields of data carried by the transmission. Processing a transmissionmay comprise moving the transmission through one or more layers of aprotocol stack (which may be implemented in, e.g., hardware and/orsoftware-configured elements), such as by moving a transmission that hasbeen received by an eNB or a UE through one or more layers of a protocolstack.

Various embodiments of eNBs and/or UEs discussed below may also generateone or more transmissions of various types. Some generating of atransmission may comprise modulating, encoding, formatting, assembling,and/or otherwise handling a transmission that is to be transmitted. Insome embodiments, an eNB or UE generating a transmission may establishthe transmission's type and/or a condition associated with thetransmission. For some embodiments, an eNB or UE generating atransmission may act in accordance with the transmission's type, and/ormay act conditionally based upon the transmission's type. An eNB or UEgenerating a transmission may also determine one or more values fieldsof data carried by the transmission. Generating a transmission maycomprise moving the transmission through one or more layers of aprotocol stack (which may be implemented in, e.g., hardware and/orsoftware-configured elements), such as by moving a transmission to besent by an eNB or a UE through one or more layers of a protocol stack.

In various embodiments, resources may span various Resource Blocks(RBs), Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), and/or time periods (e.g.,frames, subframes, and/or slots) of a wireless communication system. Insome contexts, allocated resources (e.g., channels, OrthogonalFrequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, subcarrier frequencies,resource elements (REs), and/or portions thereof) may be formatted for(and prior to) transmission over a wireless communication link. In othercontexts, allocated resources (e.g., channels, OFDM symbols, subcarrierfrequencies, REs, and/or portions thereof) may be detected from (andsubsequent to) reception over a wireless communication link.

FIG. 1 illustrates a protocol diagram for Beam Reference Signal ReceivePower (BRS-RP) reporting, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. A protocol 100 may comprise a UE 101 and an eNB 102 (e.g.,an “eNB1”) in a wireless communication link with each other (e.g., overone or more UE Tx/Rx beams and one or more corresponding eNB Tx/Rx beam,or over a UE/eNB beam pair). eNB 102 may be a serving eNB. In a firstpart 110, UE 101 may transmit to eNB 102 one or more BRS-RP as measuredfor one or more eNBs (e.g., an “eNB2” and/or an “eNB3”). In a secondpart 120, eNB 102 may transmit UE 101 an indication that eNB (e.g.,“eNB3”) is added as a candidate eNB.

In some embodiments, a cell ID may be transmitted with a BRS-RP. Thecell ID may indicate a cell to which the BRS-RP corresponds. In thisway, BRS-RP of one or more other cells may be reported to a servingcell, which may (as discussed further herein) facilitate cell switching.

For some embodiments, a candidate eNB set may be configured by an eNBthrough higher-layer signaling. A virtual index may be derived bysorting one or more eNBs within the measurement set (e.g., a set of eNBsbeing measured) in an increasing order of cell ID. In some embodiments,the virtual index within a specific measurement set may be transmittedtogether with a corresponding BRS-RP.

Accordingly, a UE may report BRS-RP of different eNBs to a serving eNB.Based on the BRS-RP (and/or, in some embodiments, a Reference SignalReceive Power (RSRP), such as an RSRP used in beam sweeping) an eNB(e.g., a serving eNB) may determine a candidate eNB and may inform theUE of the candidate eNB. Within this candidate Tx set, the serving eNBmay be represented by a virtual index having a first value (e.g., avalue of “0”), and the candidate eNB may be represented by the virtualindex having a second value (e.g., a value of “1”).

In some embodiments, if a preferred Network (NW) beam (e.g., an eNB-sidebeam) of any eNB is present within a COMP set, a UE may report it. Forsome embodiments, a virtual cell ID (which may have a first value for aserving eNB, for example “0,” and which may have a second value for acandidate eNB, for example “1”) may be reported, along with acorresponding BRS-RP, so as to indicate beam information of an eNBwithin the set that is reported.

FIG. 2 illustrates a scenario of symbol-specific DCI transmission, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A scenario 200 maycomprise a first eNB 210 (e.g., an eNB1), a second eNB 220 (e.g., aneNB2), and a UE 230.

In some embodiments, a PDCCH or xPDCCH of different eNBs within thecandidate set may be transmitted at different OFDM symbols. Moreover, avirtual ID of an eNB may be utilized to derive or determine an index ofthe OFDM symbol. For example, as depicted in FIG. 1 , at a subframe n(e.g., at an nth subframes), if first eNB 210 has data to transmit to UE230, first eNB 210 may transmit a DCI at a first OFDM symbol (e.g., anOFDM symbol having an index of 0). At a following subframe n+1 (e.g., atan (n+1)th subframe), if second eNB 220 has data to transmit to UE,second eNB 220 may transmit a DCI at a second OFDM symbol (e.g., an OFDMsymbol having an index of 1).

UE 230 may then receive the first OFDM symbol based on a first UE Rxbeam, and may receive the second OFDM symbol based on a second BE Rxbeam. UE 230 may then blindly detect DCI for the first OFDM symboland/or the second OFDM symbol. If DCI is detected at the first OFDMsymbol, UE 230 may utilize the first UE Rx beam for the following datareception (for example, the assignment of Physical Downlink SharedChannel (PDSCH), 5G PDSCH (xPDSCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel(PUSCH), and/or 5G PUSCH (xPUSCH)). Otherwise, if DCI is detected at thesecond OFDM symbol, UE 230 may utilize the second UE Rx beam for thefollowing data reception (for example, the assignment of PDSCH, xPDSCH,PUSCH, and/or xPUSCH).

In some embodiments, if a UE is unable to detect DCI within one OFDMsymbol, an offset subframe indicator may be configured by higher-layersignaling (e.g., via an N_(DCI-OFFSET) parameter). A DCI in an nthsubframe may then be utilized to configure the assignment of PDSCH,xPDSCH, PUSCH, and/or xPUSCH of an (n+ N_(DCI-OFFSET))th subframe (e.g.,a subframe that follows the nth subframe by N_(DCI-OFFSET) subframes).

For some embodiments, a symbol-specific DCI transmission may beapplicable to scenarios in which one UE may be equipped with one panel.In some embodiments, a symbol-specific DCI transmission may beapplicable to scenarios in which one UE may be equipped with two panels,but two eNBs are associated with the same panel.

FIG. 3 illustrates a scenario of symbol-specific DCI transmission, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A scenario 300 maycomprise a first eNB 310 (e.g., an eNB1), a second eNB 320 (e.g., aneNB2), and a UE 330.

In some embodiments, an Interleaved Single Carrier Frequency-DivisionMultiple Access (IFDMA) may be applied on a PDCCH or xPDCCH, so that atime-domain duplicated PDCCH or xPDCCH structure may be obtained. Forexample, first eNB 310 and/or second eNB 320 may transmit duplicate(e.g., transmitting PDCCH or xPDCCH for two halves of an OFDM symbol).UE 330 may then use a first UE Rx beam corresponding with first eNB 310to receive a first-half signal, and may use a second UE Rx beamcorresponding with second eNB 320 to receive a second half signal.

In various embodiments discussed herein, a mapping rule between eNBvirtual IDs and OFDM symbols assigned to eNBs may be configured byhigher-layer signaling, or may be configured by DCI signaling. Forexample, for a first UE, a first mapping rule may configure a first OFDMsymbol and a second OFDM symbol may correspond, respectively, to a firstvirtual cell ID (e.g., a virtual cell ID #0) and a second virtual cellID (e.g., a virtual cell ID #1). In contrast, for a second UE, a secondmapping rule (e.g., an inverse mapping rule) may configure the firstOFDM symbol and the second OFDM symbol to correspond, respectively, tothe second virtual cell ID and the first virtual cell ID.

For some embodiments, an eNB cell switching may be indicated by DCI. Insome embodiments, a 1-bit cell-switching indicator may be configured byDCI, and may indicate to a UE whether (or not) to perform the cellswitching. For some embodiments, a 2-bit virtual ID of a target eNB maybe configured by DCI, so that a UE may switch to a beam corresponding tothe target eNB. In some embodiments, a subframe offset (e.g., anN_(DCI-OFFSET) parameter) may be configured by a DCI, and may indicateto a UE to switch a beam corresponding to a target eNB at a latersubframe (e.g., a number N_(DCI-OFFSET) of subframes later).

In some embodiments, a non-acknowledgement (NACK) may be reported toindicate to an eNB that a DCI for cell switching was correctly received.For some embodiments, whether (or not) to trigger cell switching may beindicated by a value of an N_(DCI-OFFSET) parameter. A first value ofN_(DCI-OFFSET) (e.g., a value of “0”) may indicate that a current cellmay be maintained.

FIG. 4 illustrates a scenario of DCI-indicated cell switching, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A scenario 400 maycomprise a first eNB 410 (e.g., an eNB1), a second eNB 420 (e.g., aneNB2), and a UE 430.

First eNB 410 may correspond with a current cell. First eNB 410 mayconfigure cell-switching parameters, during a DCI at an nth subframe.For example, an N_(DCI-OFFSET) parameter may be set to a value of “2” byfirst eNB 410. For UE 430, a UE beam (e.g., a UE Rx beam and/or a UE Tbeam) corresponding to first eNB 410 may be adopted for transmissionand/or reception (e.g., PDCCH, xPDCCH, PDSCH, xPDSCH, PUSCH, and/orxPUSCH) at an nth subframe and an (n+1)th subframe. Then, a UE beam(e.g., a UE Rx beam and/or a UE Tx beam) corresponding to second eNB 420may be adopted for the following transmission and/or reception (e.g.,PDCCH, xPDCCH, PDSCH, xPDSCH, PUSCH, and/or xPUSCH) at an (n+2)ndsubframe.

In some embodiments, the cell switching mechanisms and methods discussedherein may also be utilized for different transmission points (TPs).

FIG. 5 illustrates a scenario of active link lists, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. An active link list 510 may comprisea candidate list 520 comprising identifiers of one or more candidatelinks (e.g., via link and/or corresponding cell IDs, and/orcorresponding virtual cell IDs).

Active link list 510 may accordingly comprise a list of multiplecandidate links. One or more of the listed links may correspond to thesame cell, or may correspond to different cells. For example, FIG. 5depicts active link list 510 as containing preferred links of a cell 1,a cell 2, and a cell 3.

In some embodiments, additions to, deletions from, or updating of activelink list 510 may be done by higher-layer signaling. For someembodiments, a dynamic cell switching may be realized by dynamicallyconfiguring a scheduling link within DCI, and a subframe offsetparameter N_(DCI-OFFSET) may be configured by DCI, or by higher-layersignaling, to inform a UE to perform a link switch at a later subframe(e.g., in a number of subframes N_(DCI-OFFSET)).

FIG. 6 illustrates an eNB and a UE, in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure. FIG. 6 includes block diagrams of an eNB 610 and a UE630 which are operable to co-exist with each other and other elements ofan LTE network. High-level, simplified architectures of eNB 610 and UE630 are described so as not to obscure the embodiments. It should benoted that in some embodiments, eNB 610 may be a stationary non-mobiledevice.

eNB 610 is coupled to one or more antennas 605, and UE 630 is similarlycoupled to one or more antennas 625. However, in some embodiments, eNB610 may incorporate or comprise antennas 605, and UE 630 in variousembodiments may incorporate or comprise antennas 625.

In some embodiments, antennas 605 and/or antennas 625 may comprise oneor more directional or omni-directional antennas, including monopoleantennas, dipole antennas, loop antennas, path antennas, microstripantennas, coplanar wave antennas, or other types of antennas suitablefor transmission of RF signals. In some MIMO (multiple-input andmultiple output) embodiments, antennas 605 are separated to takeadvantage of spatial diversity.

eNB 610 and UE 630 are operable to communicate with each other on anetwork, such as a wireless network. eNB 610 and UE 630 may be incommunication with each other over a wireless communication channel 650,which has both a downlink path from eNB 610 to UE 630 and an uplink pathfrom UE 630 to eNB 610.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 , in some embodiments, eNB 610 may include aphysical layer circuitry 612, a MAC (media access control) circuitry614, a processor 616, a memory 618, and a hardware processing circuitry620. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that other componentsnot shown may be used in addition to the components shown to form acomplete eNB.

In some embodiments, physical layer circuitry 612 includes a transceiver613 for providing signals to and from UP 630. Transceiver 613 providessignals to and from UEs or other devices using one or more antennas 605.In some embodiments, MAC circuitry 614 controls access to the wirelessmedium. Memory 618 may be, or may include, a storage media/medium suchas a magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic tapes or magnetic disks), anoptical storage media (e.g., optical discs), an electronic storage media(e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid-state disk drives, orflash-memory-based storage media), or any tangible storage media ornon-transitory storage media. Hardware processing circuitry 620 maycomprise logic devices or circuitry to perform various operations. Insome embodiments, processor 616 and memory 618 are arranged to performthe operations of hardware processing circuitry 620, such as operationsdescribed herein with reference to logic devices and circuitry withineNB 610 and/or hardware processing circuitry 620.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, eNB 610 may be a device comprising anapplication processor, a memory, one or more antenna ports, and aninterface for allowing the application processor to communicate withanother device.

As is also illustrated in FIG. 6 , in some embodiments, UE 630 mayinclude a physical layer circuitry 632, a MAC circuitry 634, a processor636, a memory 638, a hardware processing circuitry 640, a wirelessinterface 642, and a display 644. A person skilled in the art wouldappreciate that other components not shown may be used in addition tothe components shown to form a complete UE.

In some embodiments, physical layer circuitry 632 includes a transceiver633 for providing signals to and from eNB 610 (as well as other eNBs).Transceiver 633 provides signals to and from eNBs or other devices usingone or more antennas 625. In some embodiments, MAC circuitry 634controls access to the wireless medium. Memory 638 may be, or mayinclude, a storage media/medium such as a magnetic storage media (e.g.,magnetic tapes or magnetic disks), an optical storage media opticaldiscs), an electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard diskdrives, solid-state disk drives, or flash-memory-based storage media),or any tangible storage media or non-transitory storage media. Wirelessinterface 642 may be arranged to allow the processor to communicate withanother device. Display 644 may provide a visual and/or tactile displayfor a user to interact with UE 630, such as a touch screen display.Hardware processing circuitry 640 may comprise logic devices orcircuitry to perform various operations. In some embodiments, processor636 and memory 638 may be arranged to perform the operations of hardwareprocessing circuitry 640, such as operations described herein withreference to logic devices and circuitry within UE 630 and/or hardwareprocessing circuitry 640.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, UE 630 may be a device comprising anapplication processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wirelessinterface for allowing the application processor to communicate withanother device, and a touch-screen display.

Elements of FIG. 6 , and elements of other figures having the same namesor reference numbers, can operate or function in the manner describedherein with respect to any such figures (although the operation andfunction of such elements is not limited to such descriptions). Forexample, FIGS. 7-8 and 11-12 also depict embodiments of eNBs, hardwareprocessing circuitry of eNBs, UEs, and/or hardware processing circuitryof UEs, and the embodiments described with respect to FIG. 6 and FIGS.FIGS. 7-8 and 11-12 can operate or function in the manner describedherein with respect to any of the figures.

In addition, although eNB 610 and EU 630 are each described as havingseveral separate functional elements, one or more of the functionalelements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations ofsoftware-configured elements and/or other hardware elements. In someembodiments of this disclosure, the functional elements can refer to oneor more processes operating an one or more processing elements. Examplesof software and/or hardware configured elements include Digital SignalProcessors (DSPs), one or more microprocessors, DSPs, Field-ProgrammableGate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs),Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFICs), and so on.

FIG. 7 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for a UE for cellswitch commands in DCI, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. FIG. 8 illustrates hardware processing circuitries for a UEfor different OFDM symbols configured with different beamformed beams,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. With reference toFIG. 6 , a UE may include various hardware processing circuitriesdiscussed herein (such as hardware processing circuitry 700 of FIG. 7and hardware processing circuitry 800 of FIG. 8 ), which may in turncomprise logic devices and/or circuitry operable to perform variousoperations. For example, in FIG. 6 , UE 630 or various elements orcomponents therein, such as hardware processing circuitry 640, orcombinations of elements or components therein) may include part of, orall of, these hardware processing circuitries.

In some embodiments, one or more devices or circuitries within thesehardware processing circuitries may be implemented by combinations ofsoftware-configured elements and/or other hardware elements. Forexample, processor 636 (and/or one or more other processors which UE 630may comprise), memory 638, and/or other elements or components of UE 630(which may include hardware processing circuitry 640) may be arranged toperform the operations of these hardware processing circuitries, such asoperations described herein with reference to devices and circuitrywithin these hardware processing circuitries. In some embodiments,processor 636 (and/or one or more other processors which UE 630 maycomprise) may be a baseband processor.

Returning to FIG. 7 , an apparatus of UE 630 (or another UE or mobilehandset), which may be operable to communicate with one or more eNBs ona wireless network, may comprise hardware processing circuitry 700. Insome embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 700 may comprise one ormore antenna ports 705 operable to provide various transmissions over awireless communication channel (such as wireless communication channel650). Antenna ports 705 may be coupled to one or more antennas 707(which may be antennas 625). In some embodiments, hardware processingcircuitry 700 may incorporate antennas 707, while in other embodiments,hardware processing circuitry 700 may merely be coupled to antennas 707.

Antenna ports 705 and antennas 707 may be operable to provide signalsfrom a UE to a wireless communications channel and/or an eNB, and beoperable to provide signals from an eNB and/or a wireless communicationschannel to UE. For example, antenna ports 705 and antennas 707 may beoperable to provide transmissions from UE 630 to wireless communicationchannel 650 (and from there to eNB 610, or to another eNB). Similarly,antennas 707 and antenna ports 705 may be operable to providetransmissions from a wireless communication channel 650 (and beyondthat, from eNB 610, or another eNB) to UE 630.

Hardware processing circuitry 700 may comprise various circuitriesoperable in accordance with the various embodiments discussed herein.With reference to FIG. 7 , hardware processing circuitry 700 maycomprise a first circuitry 710, a second circuitry 720, and/or a thirdcircuitry 730. First circuitry 710 may be operable to establish a firstUE Rx beam as being for reception of data from a first eNB. Secondcircuitry 720 may be operable to process a transmission including DCI,wherein the DCI carries an eNB cell-switching indicator. First circuitry710 may also be operable to establish a second UE Rx beam as being forreception of data from a second eNB based on the eNB cell-switchingindicator. Second circuitry 720 may be operable to provide the eNBcell-switching indicator to first circuitry 710 via an interface 725.Hardware processing circuitry 700 may also comprise an interface forreceiving the transmission from a receiving circuitry.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first eNB or the second eNB maybe associated with a virtual ID, and at least one of the first UE Rxbeam or the second UE Rx may be established as being for reception ofdata from rite first eNB or the second eNB, respectively, based on boththe eNB cell-switching indicator and the virtual ID. For someembodiments, the second UE Rx beam may be established as being forreception of data from a second eNB at a subframe that is offset from asubset in which the transmission including DCI is processed.

For some embodiments, the UE may be configured with the offset by anadditional DCI and/or higher-layer signaling. In some embodiments, thirdcircuitry 730 may be operable to store an indicator listing one or moresets of active beam pair links respectively corresponding with one ormore cells. Third circuitry 730 may provide the indicator listing one ormore sets of active beam pair links to first circuitry 710 via aninterface 735. In some embodiments, the indicator listing the one ormore sets of active beam pair links may be configured by DCI and/orhigher-layer signaling.

In some embodiments, first circuitry 710, second circuitry 720, and/orthird circuitry 730 may be implemented as separate circuitries. In otherembodiments, first circuitry 710, second circuitry 720, and/or thirdcircuitry 730 may be combined and implemented together in a circuitrywithout altering the essence of the embodiments.

Returning to FIG. 8 , an apparatus of UE 630 (or another UE or mobilehandset), which may be operable to communicate with one or more eNBs ona wireless network, may comprise hardware processing circuitry 800. Insome embodiments, hardware processing circuitry 800 may comprise one ormore antenna ports 805 operable to provide various transmissions over awireless communication channel such as wireless communication channel650). Antenna ports 805 may be coupled to one or more antennas 807(which may be antennas 625). In some embodiments, hardware processingcircuitry 800 may incorporate antennas 807, while in other embodiments,hardware processing circuitry 800 may merely be coupled to antennas 807.

Antenna ports 805 and antennas 807 may be operable to provide signalsfrom a UE to a wireless communications channel and/or an eNB, and may beoperable to provide signals from an eNB and/or a wireless communicationschannel to a UE. For example, antenna ports 805 and antennas 807 may beoperable to provide transmissions from UE 630 to wireless communicationchannel 650 (and from there to eNB 610, or to another eNB). Similarly,antennas 807 and antenna ports 805 may be operable to providetransmissions from a wireless communication channel 650 (and beyondthat, from eNB 610, or another eNB) to UE 630.

Hardware processing circuitry 800 may comprise various circuitriesoperable in accordance with the various embodiments discussed herein.With reference to FIG. 8 , hardware processing circuitry 800 maycomprise a first circuitry 810, a second circuitry 820, and/or a thirdcircuitry 830. First circuitry 810 may be operable to process a firsttransmission received through a first UE Rx beam at a first OFDM symbolposition. First circuitry 810 may also be operable to process a secondtransmission received through a second UE Rx beam at a second OFDMsymbol position. Second circuitry 820 may be operable to establish thefirst UE Rx beam as being for reception of data following the firsttransmission based upon determining that the first transmission includesDCI. Second circuitry 820 may also be operable to establish the secondUE Rx beam as being for reception of data following the secondtransmission based upon determining that the second transmissionincludes DCI. For the first transmission and the second transmission,first circuitry 810 may provide an indicator to second circuitry 820comprising an indicator of the presence of DCI, or portions of thetransmission that may bear DCI. In some embodiments, hardware processingcircuitry 800 may comprise an interface for receiving the firsttransmission and the second transmission from a receiving circuitry.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first transmission and thesecond transmission may carry PDCCH.

For some embodiments, first circuitry 810 may also be operable toprocess a third transmission through the first UE Rx beam, the thirdtransmission being processed at a subframe that is offset from asubframe in which the first transmission is processed. Second circuitry820 may also be operable to establish the first UE Rx beam as being forreception of data following the third transmission based upondetermining that the third transmission includes DCI.

In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with the offset byhigher-layer signaling. For some embodiments, under a mapping rule, thefirst OFDM symbol and the second OFDM symbol may correspond to a virtualcell ID.

For some embodiments, third circuitry 830 may be operable to store anindicator listing one or more sets of active beam pair linksrespectively corresponding with one or more cells. The indicator listingthe one or more sets of active beam pair links may be configured by DCIand/or higher-laver signaling.

In some embodiments, first circuitry 810, second circuitry 820, and/orthird circuitry 830 may be implemented as separate circuitries. In otherembodiments, first circuitry 810, second circuitry 820, and/or thirdcircuitry 830 may be combined and implemented together in a circuitrywithout altering the essence of the embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates methods for a UE for cell switch commands in DCI, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 10 illustratesmethods for a UE for different OFDM symbols configured with differentbeamformed beams, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.With reference to FIG. 6 , methods that may relate to UE 630 andhardware processing circuitry 640 are discussed herein. Although theactions in the method 900 of FIG. 9 and method 1000 of FIG. 10 are shownin a particular order, the order of the actions can be modified. Thus,the illustrated embodiments can be performed in a different order andsome actions may be performed in parallel. Some of the actions and/oroperations listed in FIGS. 9 and 10 are optional in accordance withcertain embodiments. The numbering of the actions presented is for thesake of clarity and is not intended to prescribe an order of operationsin which the various actions must occur. Additionally operations fromthe various flows may be utilized in a variety of combinations.

Moreover, in some embodiments, machine readable storage media may haveexecutable instructions that, when executed, cause UE 630 and/orhardware processing circuitry 640 to perform an operation comprising themethods of FIGS. 9 and 10 . Such machine readable storage media mayinclude any of a variety of storage media, like magnetic storage media(e.g., magnetic tapes or magnetic disks), optical storage media (e.g.,optical discs), electronic storage media (e.g., conventional hard diskdrives, solid-state disk drives, or flash-memory-based storage media),or any other tangible storage media or non-transitory storage media.

In some embodiments, an apparatus may comprise means for performingvarious actions and/or operations of the methods of FIGS. 9 and 10 .

Returning to FIG. 9 , various methods may be in accordance with thevarious embodiments discussed herein. A method 900 may comprise anestablishing 910, a processing 915, and establishing 920. In someembodiments, method 900 may comprise a storing 930.

In establishing 910, a first UE Rx beam may be established as being forreception of data from a first eNB. In processing 915, a transmissionincluding DCI may be processed, whereto the DCI may carry an eNBcell-switching indicator. In establishing 920, a second UE Rx beam maybe established as being for reception of data from a second eNB based onthe eNB cell-switching indicator.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first eNB or the second eNB maybe associated with a virtual ID, and at least one of the first UE Rxbeam or the second UE Rx may be established as being for reception ofdata from the first eNB or the second eNB, respectively, based on boththe eNB cell-switching indicator and the virtual ID. For someembodiments, the second UE Rx beam may be established as being forreception of data from a second eNB at a subframe that is offset from asubset in which the transmission including DCI is processed.

For some embodiments, the UE may be configured with the offset by anadditional DCI and/or or higher-layer signaling. In some embodiments, instoring 930, an indicator listing one or more sets of active beam pairlinks respectively corresponding with one or more cells may be stored.In some embodiments, the indicator listing the one or more sets ofactive beam pair links may be configured by DCI and/or higher-layersignaling.

Returning to FIG. 10 , various methods may be in accordance with thevarious embodiments discussed herein. A method 1000 may comprise aprocessing 1010, a processing 1015, an establishing 1020, and anestablishing 1025. In various embodiments, method 1000 may also comprisea processing 1030, an establishing 1035, and/or a storing 1040.

In processing 1010, a first transmission received through a first UE Rxbeam at a first OFDM symbol position may be processed. In processing1015, a second transmission received through a second UE Rx beam at asecond OFDM symbol position may be processed. In establishing 1020, thefirst UE Rx beam may be established as being for reception of datafollowing the first transmission based upon determining that the firsttransmission includes DCI. In establishing 1025, the second UE Rx beammay be established as being for reception of data following the secondtransmission based upon determining that the second transmissionincludes DCI.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first transmission and thesecond transmission may carry PDCCH.

For some embodiments, in processing 1030, a third transmission may beprocessed through the first UE Rx beam. The third transmission may beprocessed at a subframe that is offset from a subframe in which thefirst transmission is processed. In some embodiments, in establishing1035, the first UE Rx beam may be established as being for reception ofdata following the third transmission based upon determining that thethird transmission includes DCI.

In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with the offset byhigher-layer signaling. For some embodiments, under a mapping rule, thefirst OFDM symbol and the second OFDM symbol may correspond to a virtualcell ID.

For some embodiments, in storing 1040, an indicator listing one or moresets of active beam pair links respectively corresponding with one ormore cells may be stored. In some embodiments, the indicator listing theone or more sets of active beam pair links may be configured by DCIand/or higher-layer signaling.

FIG. 11 illustrates example components of a device, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. In some embodiments, the device 1100may include application circuitry 1102, baseband circuitry 1104, RadioFrequency (RF) circuitry 1106, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 1108,one or more antennas 1110, and power management circuitry (PMC) 1112coupled together at least as shown. The components of the illustrateddevice 1100 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments,the device 1100 may include less elements (e.g., a RAN node may notutilize application circuitry 1102, and instead include aprocessor/controller to process IP data received from an EPC). In someembodiments, the device 1100 may include additional elements such as,for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, or input/output(I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described belowmay be included in more than one device (e.g., said circuitries may beseparately included in more than one device for Cloud-RAN C-RAN)implementations).

The application circuitry 1102 may include one or more applicationprocessors. For example, the application circuitry 1102 may includecircuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core ormulti-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination ofgeneral-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphicsprocessors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupledwith or may include memory/storage and may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applicationsor operating systems to run on the device 1100. In some embodiments,processors of application circuitry 1102 may process IP data packetsreceived from an EPC.

The baseband circuitry 1104 may include circuitry such as, but notlimited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Thebaseband circuitry 1104 may include one or more baseband processors orcontrol logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signalpath of the RF circuitry 1106 and to generate baseband signals for atransmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1106. Baseband processingcircuity 1104 may interface with the application circuitry 1102 forgeneration and processing of the baseband signals and for controllingoperations of the RF circuitry 1106. For example, in some embodiments,the baseband circuitry 1104 may include a third generation (3G) basebandprocessor 1104A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 1104B, afifth generation (5G) baseband processor 1104C, or other basebandprocessor(s) 1104D for other existing generations, generations indevelopment or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation(2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.), The baseband circuitry 1104 (e.g.,one or more of baseband processors 1104A-D) may handle various radiocontrol functions that enable communication with one or more radionetworks via the RF circuitry 1106. In other embodiments, some or all ofthe functionality of baseband processors 1104A-D may be included inmodules stored in the memory 1104G and executed via a Central ProcessingUnit (CPU) 1104E. The radio control functions may include, but are notlimited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radiofrequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulationcircuitry of the baseband circuitry 1104 may include Fast-FourierTransform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demappingfunctionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of thebaseband circuitry 1104 may include convolution, tail-bitingconvolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC)encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulationand encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples andmay include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1104 may include one or moreaudio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 1104F. The audio DSP(s) 1104Emay be include elements for compression/decompression and echocancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in otherembodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitablycombined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a samecircuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all ofthe constituent components of the baseband circuitry 1104 and theapplication circuitry 1102 may be implemented together such as, forexample, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1104 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1104 may supportcommunication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network(EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN).Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 1104 is configured tosupport radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may bereferred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 1106 may enable communication with wireless networks usingmodulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 1106 may include switches,filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with thewireless network. RF circuitry 1106 may include a receive signal pathwhich may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from theFEM circuitry 1108 and provide baseband signals to the basebandcircuitry 1104. RF circuitry 1106 may also include a transmit signalpath which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals providedby the baseband circuitry 1104 and provide RF output signals to the FEMcircuitry 1108 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1106may include mixer circuitry 1106A, amplifier circuitry 1106B and filtercircuitry 1106C. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RFcircuitry 1106 may include filter circuitry 1106C and mixer circuitry1106A. RF circuitry 1106 may also include synthesizer circuitry 1106Dfor synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1106A of thereceive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 1106A of the receive signal path may be configuredto down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1108 based onthe synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 1106D. Theamplifier circuitry 1106B may be configured to amplify thedown-converted signals and the filter circuitry 1106C may be a low-passfilter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwantedsignals from the down-converted signals to generate output basebandsignals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the basebandcircuitry 1104 for further processing. In some embodiments, the outputbaseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although thisis not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 1106A of thereceive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1106A of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1106D togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 1108. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 1104 and may befiltered by filter circuitry 1106C.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1106A of the receive signalpath and the mixer circuitry 1106A of the transmit signal path mayinclude two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadraturedownconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, themixer circuitry 1106A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry1106A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and maybe arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 1106A of the receive signal path andthe mixer circuitry 1106A may be arranged for direct downconversion anddirect upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixercircuitry 1106A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1106Aof the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyneoperation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 1106 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry1104 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 1106.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may beprovided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1106D may be afractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other typesof frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizercircuitry 1106D may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequencymultiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with afrequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 1106D may be configured to synthesize anoutput frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1106A of the RFcircuitry 1106 based on a frequency input and a divider control input.In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1106D may be a fractionalN/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Dividercontrol input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 1104 orthe applications processor 1102 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplications processor 1102.

Synthesizer circuitry 1106D of the RF circuitry 1106 may include adivider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phaseaccumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulusdivider (DMD) and the phase accumulator max be a digital phaseaccumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured todivide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out)to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, theDLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phasedetector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments,the delay elements may be of to break a VCO period up into Nd equalpackets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delayline. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensurethat the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 1106D may be configured togenerate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In someembodiments, the RF circuitry 1106 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 1108 may include a receive signal path which may includecircuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or moreantennas 1110, amplify the received signals and provide the amplifiedversions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1106 for furtherprocessing. FEM circuitry 1108 may also include a transmit signal pathwhich may include circuitry configured to amplify signals fortransmission provided by the RF circuitry 1106 for transmission by oneor more of the one or more antennas 1110. In various embodiments, theamplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be donesolely in the RF circuitry 1106, solely in the FEM 1108, or in both theRF circuitry 1106 and the FEM 1108.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 1108 may include a TX/RX switchto switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path.The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include an LNA toamplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RFsignals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1106). The transmitsignal path of the FEM circuitry 1108 may include a power amplifier (PA)to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 1106), andone or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission(e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 1110).

In some embodiments, the PMC 1112 may manage power provided to thebaseband circuitry 1104. In particular, the PMC 1112 may controlpower-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DCconversion. The PMC 1112 may often be included when the device 1100 iscapable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device isincluded in a UE. The PMC 1112 may increase the power conversionefficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heatdissipation characteristics.

While FIG. 11 shows the PMC 1112 coupled only with the basebandcircuitry 1104. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 1112 may beadditionally or alternatively coupled with, and perform similar powermanagement operations for, other components such as, but not limited to,application circuitry 1102, RF circuitry 1106, or FEM 1108.

In some embodiments, the PMC 1112 may control, or otherwise be part of,various power saving mechanisms of the device 1100. For example, if thedevice 1100 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected tothe RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may entera state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period ofinactivity. During this state, the device 1100 may power down for briefintervals of time and thus save power.

If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time,then the device 1100 may transition off to an RRC_Idle state, where itdisconnects from the network and does not perform operations such aschannel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 1100 goes into avery low power state and it performs paging where again it periodicallywakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device1100 may not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, itmust transition back to RRC_Connected state.

An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable tothe network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging fromseconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totallyunreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sentduring this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay isacceptable.

Processors of the application circuitry 1102 and processors of thebaseband circuitry 1104 may be used to execute elements of one or moreinstances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the basebandcircuitry 1104, alone or in combination, may be used execute Layer 3,Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the applicationcircuitry 1104 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from theselayers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., transmissioncommunication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers).As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a radio resource control(RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein,Layer 2 may comprise a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio linkcontrol (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1may comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/RAN node, described infurther detail below.

FIG. 12 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. As discussed above,the baseband circuitry 1104 of FIG. 11 may comprise processors1104A-1104E and a memory 1104G utilized by said processors. Each of theprocessors 1104A-1104E may include a memory interface, 1204A-1204E,respectively, to send/receive data to/from the memory 1104G.

The baseband circuitry 1104 may further include one or more interfacesto communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memoryinterface 1212 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memoryexternal to the baseband circuitry 1104), an application circuitryinterface 1214 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from theapplication circuitry 1102 of FIG. 11 ), an RF circuitry interface 1216(e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 1106 ofFIG. 11 ), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 1218 (e.g., aninterface to send/receive data to/from Near Field Communication (NEC)components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi®components, and other communication components), and a power managementinterface 1220 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or controlsignals to/from the PMC 1112.

It is pointed out that elements of any of the Figures herein having thesame reference numbers and/or names as elements of any other Figureherein may, in various embodiments, operate or function in a mannersimilar those elements of the other Figure (without being limited tooperating or functioning in such a manner).

Reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,”“some embodiments,” or “other embodiments” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but notnecessarily all embodiments. The various appearances of “an embodiment,”“one embodiment,” or “some embodiments” are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiments. If the specification states acomponent, feature, structure, or characteristic “may,” “might,” or“could” be included, that particular component, feature, structure, orcharacteristic is not required to be included. If the specification orclaim refers to “a” or “an” element, that does not mean there only oneof the elements. If the specification or claims refer to “an additional”element, that does not preclude there being more than one of theadditional element.

Furthermore, the particular features, structures, functions, orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. For example, a first embodiment may be combined with asecond embodiment anywhere the particular features, structures,functions, or characteristics associated with the two embodiments arenot mutually exclusive.

While the disclosure has been described in conjunction with specificembodiments thereof, many alternatives, modifications and variations ofsuch embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artin light of the foregoing description. For example, other memoryarchitectures e.g., Dynamic RAM (DRAM) may use the embodimentsdiscussed. The embodiments of the disclosure are intended to embrace allsuch alternatives, modifications, and variations as to fall within thebroad scope of the appended claims.

In addition, well known power/ground connections to integrated circuit(IC) chips and other components may or may not be shown within thepresented figures, for simplicity of illustration and discussion, and soas not to obscure the disclosure. Further, arrangements may be shown inblock diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure, and alsoin view of the fact that specifics with respect to implementation ofsuch block diagram arrangements are highly dependent upon the platformwithin which the present disclosure is to be implemented (i.e., suchspecifics should be well within purview of one skilled in the art).Where specific details (e.g., circuits) are set forth in order todescribe example embodiments of the disclosure, it should be apparent toone skilled in the art that the disclosure can be practiced without, orwith variation of, these specific details. The description is thus to beregarded as illustrative instead of limiting.

The following examples pertain to further embodiments. Specifics in theexamples may be used anywhere in one or more embodiments. All optionalfeatures of the apparatus described herein may also be implemented withrespect to a method or process.

Example 1 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable tocommunicate with a plurality of Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) on a wirelessnetwork, comprising: one or more processors to: establish a first UEReceive (Rx) beam as being for reception of data from a first eNB;process a transmission including Downlink Control Information (DCI),wherein the DCI carries an eNB cell-switching indicator; and establish asecond UE Rx beam as being for reception of data from a second eNB basedon the eNB cell-switching indicator, and an interface for receiving thetransmission from a receiving circuitry.

In example 2, the apparatus of example wherein at least one of the firsteNB or the second eNB is associated with a virtual ID, and wherein atleast one of the first UE Rx beam or the second UE Rx beam isestablished as being for reception of data from the first eNB of thesecond eNB, respectively, based on both the eNB cell-switching indicatorand the virtual ID.

In example 3, the apparatus of either of examples 1 or 2, wherein thesecond UE Rx beam is established as being for reception of data from asecond eNB at a subframe that is offset trout a subset in which thetransmission including DCI is processed.

In example 4, the apparatus of example 3, wherein the UE is configuredwith the offset by one of: an additional DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

In example 5, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 4, wherein theone or more processors are to: store an indicator listing one or moresets of active beam pair links respectively corresponding with one ormore cells.

In example 6, the apparatus of example 5, wherein the indicator listingthe one or more sets of active beam pair links is configured by one of:DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

Example 7 provides a User Equipment, (UE) device comprising anapplication processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wirelessinterface for allowing the application processor to communicate withanother device, and a touch-screen display, the UE device including theapparatus of any of examples 1 through 6.

Example 8 provides a method comprising: establishing, for a UserEquipment (UE), a first UE Receive (Rx) beam as being for reception ofdata from a first eNB; processing a transmission including DownlinkControl Information (DCI), wherein the DCI carries an eNB cell-switchingindicator; and establishing a second UE Rx beam as being for receptionof data from a second eNB based on the eNB cell-switching indicator.

In example 9, the method of example 8, wherein at least one of the firsteNB or the second eNB is associated with a virtual ID, and wherein atleast one of the first UE Rx beam or the second UE Rx is established asbeing for reception of data from the first eNB or the second eNB,respectively, based on both the eNB cell-switching indicator and thevirtual ID.

In example 10, the method of either of examples 8 or 9, wherein thesecond UE Rx beam is established as being for reception of data from asecond eNB at a subframe that is offset from a subset in which thetransmission including DCI is processed.

In example 11, the method of example 10, wherein the UE is configuredwith the offset by one of: an additional DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

In example 12, the method of examples 8 through 11, comprising: storingan indicator listing one or more sets of active beam pair linksrespectively corresponding with one or more cells.

In example 13, the method of example 12, wherein the indicator listingthe one or more sets of active beam pair links is configured by one of:DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

Example 14 provides machine readable storage media having machineexecutable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause one ormore processors to form a method according to any of examples 8 through13.

Example 15 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable tocommunicate with a plurality of Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) on a wirelessnetwork, comprising: means for establishing a first UE Receive (Rx) beamas being for reception of data from a first eNB; means for processing atransmission including Downlink Control Information (DCI), wherein theDCI carries an eNB cell-switching indicator; and means for establishinga second UE Rx beam as being for reception of data from a second eNBbased on the eNB cell-switching indicator.

In example 16, the apparatus of example 15, wherein at least one of thefirst eNB or the second eNB is associated with a virtual ID, and whereinat least one of the first UE Rx beam or the second UE Rx is establishedas being for reception of data from the first eNB or the second eNB,respectively, based on both the eNB cell-switching indicator and thevirtual ID.

In example 17, the apparatus of either of examples 15 or 16, wherein thesecond UE Rx beam is established as being for reception of data from asecond eNB at a subframe that is offset from a subset in which thetransmission including DCI is processed.

In example 18, the apparatus of example 17, wherein the UE is configuredwith the offset by one of: an additional DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

In example 19, the apparatus of examples 15 through 18, comprising:means for storing an indicator listing one or more sets of active beampair links respectively corresponding with one or more cells.

In example 20, the apparatus of example 19, wherein the indicatorlisting the one or more sets of active beam pair links is configured byone of: DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

Example 21 provides machine readable storage media having machineexecutable instructions that, when executed, cause one or moreprocessors of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with anEvolved Node-B (eNB) on a wireless network to perform an operationcomprising: establish a first UE Receive (Rx) beam as being forreception of data from a first eNB; process a transmission includingDownlink Control Information (DCI), wherein the DCI carries an eNBcell-switching indicator; and establish a second UE Rx beam as being forreception of data from a second eNB based on the eNB cell-switchingindicator.

In example 22, the machine readable storage media of example 21 whereinat least one of the first eNB or the second eNB is associated with avirtual ID, and wherein at least one of the first UE Rx beam or thesecond UE Rx is established as being for reception of data from thefirst eNB or the second eNB, respectively, based on both the eNBcell-switching indicator and the virtual ID.

In example 23, the machine readable storage media of either of examples21 or 22, wherein the second UE Rx beam is established as being forreception of data from a second eNB at a subframe that is offset from asubset in which the transmission including DCI is processed.

In example 24, the machine readable storage media of example 23, whereinthe UE is configured with the offset by one of: an additional DCI, orhigher-layer signaling.

In example 25, the machine readable storage media of examples 21 through24, the operation comprising: store an indicator listing one or moresets of active beam pair links respectively corresponding with one ormore cells.

In example 26, the machine readable storage media of example 25, whereinthe indicator listing the one or more sets of active beam pair links isconfigured by one of: DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

Example 27 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable tocommunicate with a plurality of Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) on a wirelessnetwork, comprising: one or more processors to: process a firsttransmission received through a first UE Receive (Rx) beam at a firstOrthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol position;process a second transmission received through a second UE Rx beam, at asecond OFDM symbol position; establish the first UE Rx beam as being forreception of data following the first transmission based upondetermining that the first transmission includes Downlink ControlInformation (DCI); and establish the second UE Rx beam as being forreception of data following the second transmission based upondetermining that the second transmission includes DCI, and an interfacefor receiving the first transmission and the second transmission from areceiving circuitry.

In example 28, the apparatus of example 27, wherein at least one of thefirst transmission and the second transmission carries Physical DownlinkControl Channel (PDCCH).

In example 29, the apparatus of either of examples 27 or wherein the oneor more processors are to: process a third transmission through thefirst UE Rx beam, the third transmission being processed at a subframethat is offset from a subframe in which the first transmission isprocessed; and establish the first UE Rx beam as being for reception ofdata following the third transmission based upon determining that thethird transmission includes DCI.

In example 30, the apparatus of example 29, wherein the UE is configuredwith the offset by higher-layer signaling.

In example 31, the apparatus of any of examples 27 through 30, whereinunder a mapping rule, the first OFDM symbol and the second OFDM symbolcorrespond to a virtual cell ID.

In example 32, the apparatus of any of examples 27 through 31, whereinthe one or more processors are to: store an indicator listing one ormore sets of active beam pair links respectively corresponding with oneor more cells.

In example 33, the apparatus of example 32, wherein the indicatorlisting the one or more sets of active beam pair links is configured byone of: DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

Example 34 provides a User Equipment (UE) device comprising anapplication processor, a memory, one or more antennas, a wirelessinterface for allowing the application processor to communicate withanother device, and a touch-screen display, the UE device including theapparatus of any of examples 27 through 33.

Example 35 provides a method comprising: processing, for a UserEquipment (UE), a first transmission received through a first UE Receive(Rx) beam at a first Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM)symbol position; processing a second transmission received through asecond UE Rx beam at a second OFDM symbol position; establishing thefirst UE Rx beam as being for reception of data following the firsttransmission based upon determining that the first transmission includesDownlink Control Information (DCI); and establishing the second UE Rxbeam as being for reception of data following the second transmissionbased upon determining that the second transmission includes DCI.

In example 36, the method of example 35, wherein at least one of thefirst transmission and the second transmission entries Physical DownlinkControl Channel (PDCCH).

In example 37, the method of either of examples 35 or 36, comprising:processing a third transmission through the first UE Rx beam, the thirdtransmission being processed at a subframe that is offset from asubframe in which the first transmission is processed; and establishingthe first UE Rx beam as being for reception of data following the thirdtransmission based upon determining that the third transmission includesDCI.

In example 38, the method of example 37, wherein the UE is configuredwith the offset by higher-layer signaling.

In example 39, the method of any of examples 35 through 38, whereinunder a mapping rule, the first OFDM symbol and the second OFDM symbolcorrespond to a virtual cell ID.

In example 40, the method of any of examples 35 through 39, comprising:storing an indicator listing one or more sets of active beam pair linksrespectively corresponding with one or more cells.

In example 41, the machine readable storage media of example 40, whereinthe indicator listing the one or more sets of active beam pair links isconfigured by one of: DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

Example 42 provides machine readable storage media having machineexecutable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause one ormore processors to perform a method according to any of examples 35through 41.

Example 43 provides an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable tocommunicate with a plurality of Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) on a wirelessnetwork, comprising: means for processing a first transmission receivedthrough a first UE Receive (Rx) beam at a first OrthogonalFrequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol position; means forprocessing a second transmission received through a second UE Rx beam ata second OFDM symbol position; means for establishing the first UE Rxbeam as being for reception of data following the first transmissionbased upon determining that the first transmission includes DownlinkControl Information (DCI); and means for establishing the second UE Rxbeam as being for reception of data following the second transmissionbased upon determining that the second transmission includes DCI.

In example 44, the apparatus of example 43, wherein at least one of thefirst transmission and the second transmission carries Physical DownlinkControl Channel (PDCCH).

In example 45, the apparatus of either of examples 43 or 44, comprising:means for processing a third transmission through the first UE Rx beam,the third transmission being processed at is subframe that is offsetfrom a subframe in which the first transmission is processed; and meansfor establishing the first UE Rx beam as being for reception of datafollowing the third transmission based upon determining that the thirdtransmission includes DCI.

In example 46, the apparatus of example 45, wherein the UE is configuredwith the offset by higher-layer signaling.

In example 47, the apparatus of any of examples 41 through 46, whereinunder a mapping rule, the first OFDM symbol and the second OFDM symbolcorrespond to a virtual cell ID.

In example 48, the apparatus of any of examples 43 through 47,comprising: means for storing an indicator listing one or more sets ofactive beam pair links respectively corresponding with one or morecells.

In example 49, the apparatus of example 48, wherein the indicatorlisting the one or more sets of active beam pair links is configured byone of: DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

Example 50 provides machine readable storage media having machineexecutable instructions that, when executed, cause one or moreprocessors of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with anEvolved Node-B (eNB) on a wireless network to perform an operationcomprising: process a first transmission received through a first UEReceive (Rx) beam at a first Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing(OFDM) symbol position; process a second transmission received through asecond UE Rx beam at a second OFDM symbol position; establish the firstUE Rx beam as being for reception of data following the firsttransmission based upon determining that the first transmission includesDownlink Control Information (DCI); and establish the second UE Rx beamas being for reception of data following the second transmission basedupon determining that the second transmission includes DCI.

In example 51, the machine readable storage media of example 50, whereinat least one of the first transmission and the second transmissioncarries Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

In example 52, the machine readable storage media of either of examples50 or 51, the operation comprising: process a third transmission throughthe first UE Rx beam, the third transmission being processed at asubframe that is offset from a subframe in which the first transmissionis processed; and establish the first UE Rx beam as being for receptionof data following the third transmission based upon determining that thethird transmission includes DCI.

In example 53, the machine readable storage media of example 52, whereinthe UE is configured with the offset by higher-layer signaling.

In example 54, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 50through 53, wherein under a mapping rule, the first OFDM symbol and thesecond OFDM symbol correspond to a virtual cell ID.

In example 55, the machine readable storage media of any of examples 50through 54, the operation comprising: store an indicator listing one ormore sets of active beam pair links respectively corresponding with oneor more cells.

In example 56, the machine readable storage media of example 55, whereinthe indicator listing the one or more sets of active beam pair links isconfigured by one of: DCI, or higher-layer signaling.

In example 57, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 6, and 27through 33, wherein the one or more processors comprise a basebandprocessor.

In example 58, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 6, and 27through 33, comprising a memory for storing instructions, the memorybeing coupled to the one or more processors.

In example 59, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 6, and 27through 33, comprising a transceiver circuitry for at least one of:generating transmissions, encoding transmissions, processingtransmissions, or decoding transmissions.

In example 60, the apparatus of any of examples 1 through 6, and 27through 33, comprising a transceiver circuitry for generatingtransmissions and processing transmissions.

An abstract is provided that will allow the reader to ascertain thenature and gist of the technical disclosure. The abstract is submittedwith the understanding that it will not be used to limit the scope ormeaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated intothe detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) operable tocommunicate with a plurality of Evolved Node-Bs (eNBs) on a wirelessnetwork, comprising: one or more processors to: establish a first UEReceive (Rx) beam as being for reception of data from a first eNB;process a transmission including Downlink Control Information (DCI)wherein the DCI carries an eNB cell-switching indicator; and establish asecond UE Rx beam as being for reception of data from a second eNB basedon the eNB cell-switching indicator, and an interface for receiving thetransmission from a receiving circuitry.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein at least one of the first eNB or the second eNB is associatedwith a virtual ID, and wherein at least one of the first UE Rx beam orthe second UE Rx beam is established as being for reception of data fromthe first eNB or the second eNB, respectively, based on both the eNBcell-switching indicator and the virtual ID.
 3. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the second UE Rx beam is established as being for receptionof data from the second eNB at a subframe with an offset from a subsetin which the transmission including DCI is processed.
 4. The apparatusof claim 3, wherein the UE is configured with the offset by one of: anadditional DCI, or higher-layer signaling.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the one or more processors are to: store an indicator listingone or more sets of active beam pair links respectively correspondingwith one or more cells.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein theindicator listing the one or more sets of active beam pair links isconfigured by one of: DCI, or higher-layer signaling.
 7. Machinereadable storage media having machine executable instructions that, whenexecuted, cause one or more processors of a User Equipment (UE) operableto communicate with an Evolved Node-B (eNB) on a wireless network toperform an operation comprising: establish a first UE Receive (Rx) beamas being for reception of data from a first eNB; process a transmissionincluding Downlink Control Information (DCI), wherein the DCI carries aneNB cell-switching indicator; and establish a second UE Rx beam as beingfor reception of data from a second eNB based on the eNB cell-switchingindicator.
 8. The machine readable storage media of claim 7, wherein atleast one of the first eNB or the second eNB is associated with avirtual ID, and wherein at least one of the first UE Rx beam or thesecond UE Rx is established as being for reception of data from thefirst eNB or the second eNB, respectively, based on both the eNBcell-switching indicator and the virtual ID.
 9. The machine readablestorage media of claim 7, wherein the second UE Rx beam is establishedas being for reception of data from the second eNB at a subframe that isoffset from a subset in which the transmission including DCI isprocessed.
 10. The machine readable storage media of claim 9, whereinthe UE is configured with the offset by one of: an additional DCI, orhigher-layer signaling.
 11. The machine readable storage media of claim7, the operation comprising: store an indicator listing one or more setsof active beam pair links respectively corresponding with one or morecells.
 12. The machine readable storage media of claim 11, wherein theindicator listing the one or more sets of active beam pair links isconfigured by one of: DCI, or higher-layer signaling.
 13. An apparatusof a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with a plurality ofEvolved Node-Bs (eNBs) on a wireless network, comprising: one or moreprocessors to: process a first transmission received through a first UEReceive (Rx) beam at a first Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing(OFDM) symbol position; process a second transmission received through asecond UE Rx beam at a second OFDM symbol position; establish the firstUE Rx beam as being for reception of data following the firsttransmission based upon determining that the first transmission includesDownlink Control Information (DCI); and establish the second UE Rx beamas being for reception of data following the second transmission basedupon determining that the second transmission includes DCI, and aninterface for receiving the first transmission and the secondtransmission from a receiving circuitry.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein at least one of the first transmission and the secondtransmission carries Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).
 15. Theapparatus of either of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors areto: process a third transmission through the first UE Rx beam, the thirdtransmission being processed at a subframe that is offset from asubframe in which the first transmission is processed; and establish thefirst UE Rx beam as being for reception of data following the thirdtransmission based upon determining that the third transmission includesDCI.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the UE is configured withthe offset by higher-layer signaling.
 17. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein under a mapping rule, the first OFDM symbol and the second OFDMsymbol correspond to a virtual cell ID.
 18. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein the one or more processors are to: store an indicator listingone or more sets of active beam pair links respectively correspondingwith one or more cells.
 19. Machine readable storage media havingmachine executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or moreprocessors of a User Equipment (UE) operable to communicate with anEvolved Node-B (eNB) on a wireless network to perform an operationcomprising: process a first transmission received through a first UEReceive (Rx) beam at a first Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing(OFDM) symbol position; process a second transmission received through asecond UE Rx beam at a second OFDM symbol position; establish the firstUE Rx beam as being for reception of data following the firsttransmission based upon determining that the first transmission includesDownlink Control Information (DCI); and establish the second UE Rx beamas being for reception of data following the second transmission basedupon determining that the second transmission includes DCI.
 20. Themachine readable storage media of claim 19, wherein at least one of thefirst transmission and the second transmission carries Physical DownlinkControl Channel (PDCCH).
 21. The machine readable storage media of claim19, the operation comprising: process a third transmission through thefirst UE Rx beam, the third transmission being processed at a subframethat is offset from a subframe in which the first transmission isprocessed; and establish the first UE Rx beam as being for reception ofdata following the third transmission based upon determining that thethird transmission includes DCI.
 22. The machine readable storage mediaof claim 21, wherein the UE is configured with the offset byhigher-layer signaling.
 23. The machine readable storage media of claim19, wherein under a mapping rule, the first OFDM symbol and the secondOFDM symbol correspond to a virtual cell ID.
 24. The machine readablestorage media of claim 19, the operation comprising: store an indicatorlisting one or more sets of active beam pair links respectivelycorresponding with one or more cells.